Six Different Raiders Score in Win Over Pats
Prince Albert, Sask. – Six different players found the back of the net as the Prince Albert Raiders (26-33-4-1) picked up a 6-1 win over the Regina Pats (24-33-3-2) on Saturday night at the Art Hauser Centre.
Nolan Allan had a career-high four points with a goal and three assists. Evan Herman and Reece Vitelli each picked up a goal and two assists. Eric Johnston, Landon Kosior, and Keaton Sorensen also scored in the win.
The victory lifted the Raiders to ninth in the Eastern Conference, one point of the idle Calgary Hitmen. The Raiders are two points back of the eighth place Swift Current Broncos with a game at hand.
Sorensen got the Raiders on the board quickly, finding the back of the net 2:12 into the contest. He collected a loose puck in the neutral zone, skated into the Pats end and was able to turn the corner on Parker Berge. Sorensen drove to the net and was able to jam the puck under Drew Sim to open the scoring with his 10th of the season.
Connor Bedard tied the game before the end of the period. He intercepted a cross-zone pass to create a shorthanded breakaway and fired a shot past Tikhon Chaika to make it a 1-1 game with 7:01 left in the opening period.
[related_links] The Raiders broke the deadlock with two goals seven seconds apart, beginning with Vitell’s marker with 4:52 left in the middle frame. On a Raiders power play, Herman set up Vitelli in the slot for the one-timer. The Raiders captain’s beat Sim over his right pad to give Vitelli 25 goals on the season.
On the ensuing faceoff, Allan carried the puck deep into the Pats zone. His centering pass deflected off the skate of Ryker Evans and pass Sim to give the Chicago Blackhawks prospect his seventh goal of the season, putting the Raiders up 3-1 after two periods.
Kosior extended the Raiders’ lead just 41 seconds into the third period on the power play. After Allan and Kosior switched to give the Regina-born blueliner the puck at the top of the slot, Kosior wired a shot over Sim’s blocker for his 18th goal on the campaign.
The Raiders took advantage of another Pats penalty midway through the third to extend their lead. Vitelli charged down the left wing and backhanded a pass to find Herman in the slot. Herman slid it underneath Sim to record his 23rd goal of the year to give the Raiders a 5-1 advantage.
Johnston wrapped up the scoring with 7:42 left to play in the contest. He skated the blueline from left to right before putting a shot on goal. Sim never saw the shot and the puck found the inside of the right post to put the Raiders up 6-1 with Johnston’s second goal of the season.
In the Raiders’ goal, Chaika stopped 25 of the 26 shots faced in the game to pick up his 20th win of the season. Sim made 22 saves in the loss for the Pats.
The Raiders are off until Friday night when they head to Saskatoon to take on the Blades at SaskTel Centre. Game time is 7 p.m. Catch the game on 900 CKBI with Rob Mahon, on WHL Live on CHL TV, or at The Rock and Iron Club House or Original Joe’s.
The next Raiders’ home game is the final home outing of the regular season on Saturday, April 16 against the Brandon Wheat Kings. The game was rescheduled from its original date of Saturday, January 29. Tickets purchased for the original date will be honoured at the door.
Tickets for the regular season home finale are available at SaskTix.ca and at the Raiders Office during working hours. Puck drop is 7 p.m.
